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Algernon_Asimov's guide to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (startrek.website)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Algernon_Asimov's guide to 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'

I've compiled an episode guide for 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'. This shows major milestones and character development - hopefully without giving away too many spoilers.

If you want to know which episodes are essential to watch (and which to avoid!) in the early seasons of Deep Space Nine, this is the page for you!

Season 1

Episode	Title	Key points / milestones	Characters featured	Essential?
1 & 2	Emissary	Commander Sisko, a man still suffering the consequences of the Battle of Wolf 359, takes command of space station Deep Space Nine in orbit around Bajor, after the end of the Cardassian occupation. A wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant is discovered nearby.	All	Engage!
3	Past Prologue	First appearance of Garak. Cross-over appearance of Lursa & B’Etor.	Kira	meh
4	A Man Alone	Jake and Nog first meet. Keiko starts a school.	Odo Keiko Rom	meh
5	Babel	Gibberish virus.		Avoid
6	Captive Pursuit	First visitor from the Gamma Quadrant.	O’Brien	Just for fun
7	Q-Less	First and only appearance of Q.	Sisko Q Vash	Just for fun
8	Dax	Examination of Trill host/symbiont relationship.	Jadzia	meh
9	The Passenger	Mysterious dead/non-dead person.	Odo Bashir	Avoid
10	Move Along Home	First official delegation from Gamma Quadrant. Commonly regarded as one of the worst episodes of the series. (But I like it!)	Quark	Just for fun
11	The Nagus	First appearance of Grand Nagus Zek. Development of Jake/Nog friendship.	Zek Quark Jake Nog	Just for fun
12	Vortex	Odo character development. First mention of "changelings". First time Morn is mentioned by name.	Odo	meh
13	Battle Lines	The end of Kai Opaka's story.	Opaka	Engage!
14	The Storyteller	O'Brien the storyteller. Beginnings of O'Brien/Bashir friendship.	O'Brien	Avoid
15	Progress	Kira versus crusty old Bajoran farmer. Jake and Nog and self-sealing stem bolts.	Kira Jake Nog	Just for fun
16	If Wishes Were Horses	Dreams become real. Sisko gets his baseball.		Avoid
17	The Forsaken	First appearance of Lwaxana Troi. Nice character development of Odo.	Lwaxana Odo	Just for fun
18	Dramatis Personae	Psychic invaders take over the crew.		Avoid
19	Duet	Widely acknowledged as the best episode of 1st season DS9, and one of the best of the series. Kira and a Cardassian war criminal.	Kira	Engage!
20	In The Hands Of The Prophets	First appearance of Winn (huzzah!) and Bareil. Keiko's school in trouble with Bajoran religion.	Winn Kira	Engage!

Season 2

Episode	Title	Key points / milestones	Characters featured	Essential?
1	The Homecoming	[Part 1 of 3] Bajoran war hero turns up.	Kira	Engage!
2	The Circle	[Part 2 of 3] Coup on Bajor.	Winn Bareil	Engage!
3	The Siege	[Part 3 of 3] Take-over of Deep Space Nine.		Engage!
4	Invasive Procedures	Threat to the Dax symbiont.	Jadzia	meh
5	Cardassians	Controversy about Cardassian war orphans on Bajor.	Garak Dukat	Engage!
6	Melora	Wheelchair-bound Starfleet Officer.	Bashir	Avoid
7	Rules of Acquisition	Grand Nagus Zek sends Quark to Gamma Quadrant. First mention of the Dominion.	Quark Zek	Just for fun
8	Necessary Evil	How Odo got started in law enforcement during Cardassian Occupation.	Odo Kira Dukat	Engage!
9	Second Sight	Sisko meets a mysterious woman.	Sisko	Avoid
10	Sanctuary	Refugees from Gamma Quadrant, fleeing the Dominion.	Kira	Engage!
11	Rivals	Quark has a business rival.		meh
12	The Alternate	Odo's mentor visits. Odo character development.	Odo	Engage!
13	Armageddon Game	Development of Bashir/O'Brien friendship.	O'Brien Bashir	Just for fun
14	Whispers	O'Brien gets worried about his colleagues' behaviour.	O'Brien	meh
15	Paradise	O'Brien and Sisko stuck in a pre-technological paradise.	Sisko O'Brien	meh
16	Shadowplay	Odo and Jadzia investigate disappearing people from a colony. Odo makes a friend. Jake tries apprenticing with O'Brien. Bareil/Kira sparks.	Odo Jadzia Jake	Just for fun
17	Playing God	Jadzia mentors a Trill initiate from the joining program.	Jadzia	meh
18	Profit and Loss	Quark's old flame is a Cardassian dissident. We learn something about Garak's background.	Quark Garak	meh
19	Blood Oath	Three old Klingons - Kor, Kang, and Koloth - invite Jadzia on a mission of revenge.	Jadzia	Just for fun
20	The Maquis, Part 1	Introduces the Maquis [for the purposes of setting up 'Voyager'].	Sisko Dukat	Engage!
21	The Maquis, Part 2	Sisko and Dukat work together against the Maquis. Sisko's famous "It's easy to be a saint in Paradise" speech.	Sisko Dukat	Engage!
22	The Wire	Garak is getting headaches - but nothing is ever simple with Garak.	Garak	Engage!
23	Crossover	1st "mirror universe" episode.	Mirror	Just for fun
24	The Collaborator	The election of the Bajoran Kai: Winn versus Bareil. Did Bareil collaborate with the Cardassians?	Bareil Winn Kira Odo	Engage!
25	Tribunal	O'Brien on trial in Cardassia for being a Maquis.	O'Brien Odo	Engage!
26	The Jem'Hadar	We meet the Dominion's soldiers: the Jem'Hadar.	Sisko	Engage!

Season 3

Episode	Title	Key points / milestones	Characters featured	Essential?
1	The Search, Part 1	The Defiant arrives. A new security officer. The search for the Dominion's Founders. Odo searches for his people.	Odo Sisko	Engage!
2	The Search, Part 2	The Dominion makes approaches to the Alpha Quadrant. Odo meets the Changelings.	Odo Sisko	Engage!
3	The House of Quark	Quark kills a Klingon and gets involved in a Klingon feud.	Quark	Just for fun
4	Equilibrium	Jadzia learns about a new previous Dax host.	Jadzia	meh
5	Second Skin	Kira is really an undercover Cardassian operative and meets her father.	Kira	Engage!
6	The Abandoned	Quark finds a Jem'Hadar baby. Odo raises it (they grow fast!). Sisko meets Jake's girlfriend.	Odo Jake	Engage!
7	Civil Defense	An old anti-slave-uprising program is accidentally triggered on the station. Dukat comes to help and gloat.		Just for fun
8	Meridian	A planet shifts in and out of existence. Quark tries to capture Kira's image for a special hologram request.	Jadzia Kira	Avoid
9	Defiant	Commander Will Riker (from the Enterprise) comes to Deep Space Nine. Sisko and Dukat try to prevent a Maquis attack.	Riker Kira Sisko Dukat	Engage!
10	Fascination	Lwaxana returns to DS9. Everyone's in love with the wrong people at the Bajoran Gratitude Festival. More Odo development.	Lwaxana Odo	Avoid
11	Past Tense, Part 1	Sisko, Bashir, Jadzia find themselves on Earth in 2024, and get involved in the Bell riots.	Sisko	Engage!
12	Past Tense, Part 2	The timeline is broken and needs fixing.	Sisko	Engage!
13	Life Support	Bareil is dying, but is needed by Winn for peace negotiations with the Cardassians.	Bareil Winn Kira	Engage!
14	Heart of Stone	Odo and Kira trapped in a cave. Essential Odo character development. Nog wants to apply to Starfleet Academy.	Odo Nog	Engage!
15	Destiny	Emissary "trilogy" I: An old Bajoran prophecy predicts that three Cardassians and the Emissary will destroy the wormhole.	Sisko Kira	meh
16	Prophet Motive	Grand Nagus Zek has rewritten the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition.	Quark Rom Zek	Just for fun
17	Visionary	O'Brien gets flashes of the future while Romulans demand information about the Dominion.	O'Brien	meh
18	Distant Voices	Bashir finds himself on an abandoned Deep Space Nine, with Garak and the crew acting strangely.	Bashir	Avoid
19	Through the Looking Glass	2nd "mirror universe" episode.	Mirror	Just for fun
20	Improbable Cause	[Part 1 of 2] Garak's tailor shop gets blown up, and Odo investigates. As usual with Garak, there's more to things than meets the eye. We meet Enabran Tain.	Garak Odo	Engage!
21	The Die is Cast	[Part 2 of 2] The Cardassian Obsidian Order and the Romulan Tal Shiar are working together. Garak and Odo have some intense moments. The Battle of the Omarian Nebula changes things irrevocably.	Garak Odo	Engage!
22	Explorers	Sisko builds an old-style Bajoran lightship, and he and Jake enjoy some father-son time while flying it to Cardassia. Jake tells his father he's going to be a writer. First mention of Kasidy Yates.	Sisko Jake	Engage!
23	Family Business	Quark's mother is in trouble with the Ferengi Commerce Authority. First appearance of Brunt. Sisko finally meets Kasidy.	Quark Nog Brunt Sisko Kasidy	Just for fun
24	Shakaar	Election for the new First Minister of Bajor. Kira's old leader, Shakaar, runs against Winn. Kira/Shakaar.	Kira Shakaar Winn	Engage!
25	Facets	Jadzia performs the zhian'tara ritual, which allows her to meet Dax's previous hosts "in the flesh". Nog passes the Starfleet Academy tests.	Jadzia Odo Nog	Just for fun
26	The Adversary	Sisko is promoted to Captain. The Defiant is sabotaged. Changelings enter the Alpha Quadrant.	Sisko Odo	Engage!

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Season 6

Episode	Title	Key points / milestones	Characters featured	Essential?
1	A Time to Stand	[Dominion War: 1 of 6] Dukat, Weyoun, Kira, Odo politicking on Terok Nor. Sisko & crew on a mission behind enemy lines.		Engage!
2	Rocks and Shoals	[Dominion War: 2 of 6] Sisko learns how far a Vorta will go. Kira is taught a crucial lesson about collaboration.	Kira Sisko	Engage!
3	Sons and Daughters	[Dominion War: 3 of 6] Worf's son enlists - bringing his emotional issues. Dukat's daughter visits - opening Kira's eyes.	Worf Kira	meh
4	Behind the Lines	[Dominion War: 4 of 6] Odo gets distracted by the company of a fellow Changeling - with a bad outcome. Sisko is reassigned while the Defiant goes on a mission. Ziyal discovers a new talent and goal.	Odo Kira Sisko	Engage!
5	Favor the Bold	[Dominion War: 5 of 6] Sisko has a plan to take back Deep Space Nine. Odo tries to apologise to Kira. Nog makes Ensign. Rom is in trouble. Everyone prepares for the coming battle.	Sisko Rom Kira	Engage!
6	Sacrifice of Angels	[Dominion War: 6 of 6] The battle to take back Deep Space Nine. Quark, the unlikely hero. The end of Ziyal's story. The Prophets! Dukat loses everything. The first time we hear that Sisko is "of Bajor".	Dukat Quark Sisko Odo	Engage!
7	You Are Cordially Invited	... to the wedding of Worf and Jadzia!	Worf Jadzia	Engage!
8	Resurrection	4th "mirror universe" episode.	Mirror	Just for fun
9	Statistical Probabilities	Bashir spends time with people like himself. Damar is now leader of Cardassia. Even geniuses with statistics can't predict the human heart.	Bashir	Engage!
10	The Magnificent Ferengi	Quark puts together a crack team of Ferengi to rescue his Moogie from the Dominion - and to show that Ferengi can be heroes, too. Iggy Pop as a Vorta!	Quark Nog	Engage!
11	Waltz	Another widely acknowledged top episode. An injured Sisko trapped alone with a deranged Dukat. An essential insight into Dukat's mind, and a turning-point for his character.	Dukat	Engage!
12	Who Mourns for Morn?	Everyone! Much sadness when everyone's favourite bar-fly dies. Except for Quark, who finds out he's Morn's sole beneficiary...	Morn Quark	Just for fun
13	Far Beyond The Stars	Another widely acknowledged top episode. Benjamin Sisko has visions about a negro science-fiction writer named Benny in racist 1950s USA, who writes a story about a negro captain called Ben Sisko who commands a space station called Deep Space Nine. (I wrote a review of this episode.)	Sisko	Just for fun
14	One Little Ship	In Worf's own words: "This is the story of the little ship that took a little trip."		meh
15	Honor Among Thieves	O'Brien goes undercover to infiltrate the Orion Syndicate, and finds links to the Dominion.	O'Brien	meh
16	Change of Heart	Worf and Jadzia get some time alone on a mission: the honeymoon they never had. Then Worf has to make the ultimate choice between love and duty. Excellent Worf/Jadzia scenes. Bashir has a moment about his love for Jadzia.	Worf Jadzia Bashir	Engage!
17	Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night	Kira learns something disturbing about her mother's time on Terok Nor under Gul Dukat during the Cardassian occupation.	Kira Dukat	Engage!
18	Inquisition	Bashir is accused of being a Dominion spy. Introduction of Section 31. We first meet Sloan.	Bashir Sloan	Engage!
19	In The Pale Moonlight	Sisko, with the help of Garak, sets in motion a highly questionable chain of events in order to change the direction of the war with the Dominion. Sisko's infamous "I can live with it" speech.	Sisko Garak	Engage!
20	His Way	Odo gets some help in dealing with his feelings for Kira. An important milestone for Odo/Kira relationship. Introduction of Vic Fontaine.	Odo Kira Vic	Engage!
21	The Reckoning	The Emissary has a task to perform in the reckoning between the Prophets and the Pah'Wraiths. Sisko's, Kira's, and Winn's faith are tested - and one fails the test.	Sisko Winn Kira	Engage!
22	Valiant	Nog and Jake encounter the Defiant's sister ship, the Valiant. It's crewed by a squad of cadets: Red Squad.	Nog	meh
23	Profit and Lace	Quark is forced into some drastic action to help Zek when he is deposed as Grand Nagus after proclaiming equal rights for females. Commonly regarded as one of the worst episodes of the series.	Quark Moogie Zek Brunt	Avoid
24	Time's Orphan	The O'Briens' daughter Molly gets trapped in time and returns 10 years older as a "wild child". Worf tests his parenting skills.	O'Brien Keiko Worf	meh
25	The Sound Of Her Voice	Sisko, O'Brien & Bashir each spend time talking to a woman via subspace as they speed to her rescue, and learn one or two things about their own lives.	Sisko O'Brien Bashir	Just for fun
26	The Tears of the Prophets	The Federation, with the Klingons and Romulans, decide to take the offensive against the Dominion and Cardassians. Sisko ignores the Prophets' warnings. Dukat calls on the Pah'Wraiths in his quest for vengeance. The end of Jadzia's story.	Sisko Jadzia Dukat	Engage!

Season 7

Episode	Title	Key points / milestones	Characters featured	Essential?
1	Image In The Sand	[Part 1 of 2] The Prophets are incommunicado. A freshly promoted Colonel Kira is running DS9, and dealing with the Romulan representative on board, Senator Creenak. Meanwhile, Sisko is on sabbatical, and learns surprising things about his past.	Sisko Kira Worf	Engage!
2	Shadows and Symbols	[Part 2 of 2] Sisko learns more about his past and his destiny. Kira confronts the Romulans. Worf goes on a mission of honour.	Sisko Worf	Engage!
3	Afterimage	The station gets a new counsellor, Ezri, who has some problems adjusting to her new circumstances.	Ezri Garak	Engage!
4	Take Me Out To The Holosuite	A Vulcan former classmate of Sisko's (now a fellow captain) brings their "adolescent rivalry" to the station - via a baseball game. The Niners versus the Logicians.		meh
5	Chrysalis	Bashir's comrades from 'Statistical Probabilities' return. Bashir becomes Pygmalion.	Bashir	Just for fun
6	Treachery, Faith and the Great River	Odo has to protect a defector from the Dominion. Nog applies his Ferengi know-how to help O'Brien with Starfleet bureuacracy.	Odo Weyoun Nog	Engage!
7	Once More Unto The Breach	Kor, honoured old Klingon warrior, wants one last chance to fight, despite Martok's disapproval.	Kor Martok Worf	meh
8	The Siege of AR-558	Nog, Ezri, Bashir, and Sisko are caught up in a warzone.	Nog Sisko	Engage!
9	Covenant	An important episode in setting up the finale. Also worth watching for its own sake - some excellent Dukat development and Dukat-Kira interaction.	Dukat Kira	Engage!
10	It's Only A Paper Moon	Nog isn't coping with what happened at AR-558, and gets some help from Vic.	Nog Vic	Engage!
11	Prodigal Daughter	Ezri visits her family, who are having problems with the family business. O'Brien follows up on his previous investigation of the Orion Syndicate.	Ezri	meh
12	The Emperor's New Cloak	5th (and final) "mirror universe" episode.	Mirror	Just for fun
13	Field of Fire	Ezri has to call on her own past while investigating a serial killer.	Ezri	meh
14	Chimera	Odo encounters another Changeling, who raises issues of tolerance and discrimination - and why Odo stays among the "solids".	Odo	Engage!
15	Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang	The team has to pull off a casino heist to help Vic.	Vic	meh
16	Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges	Bashir is caught up in intrigue between Section 31, Starfleet, the Romulan Continuing Committee, and the Tal Shiar.	Bashir Sloan	Engage!
17	Penumbra	[The Final Chapter: 1 of 9] Sisko plans... Worf goes... Dukat changes... The Prophets say... Winn sees... Ezri realises... Damar decides... The Founder orders... Kira teaches... Garak helps... Odo feels... Bashir learns... Quark thinks... Rom becomes... ... and if you think you're getting more information than that...		Engage!
18	'Til Death Do Us Part	[The Final Chapter: 2 of 9] ... think again!		Engage!
19	Strange Bedfellows	[The Final Chapter: 3 of 9] This is the nine-part final chapter...		Engage!
20	The Changing Face of Evil	[The Final Chapter: 4 of 9] ... where everything gets resolved.		Engage!
21	When It Rains...	[The Final Chapter: 5 of 9] If you don't make it this far...		Engage!
22	Tacking Into The Wind	[The Final Chapter: 6 of 9] ... then it doesn't matter what happens.		Engage!
23	Extreme Measures	[The Final Chapter: 7 of 9] If you do get this far...		Engage!
24	The Dogs of War	[The Final Chapter: 8 of 9] ... then you won't want spoilers.		Engage!
25 & 26	What You Leave Behind	[The Final Chapter: 9 of 9] ENJOY!		Engage!

"Season 8"

If you're interested, you can also learn about the Deep Space Nine relaunch novels (affectionately called "Season 8").